Indian Removal Act Justification

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Transcript of Indian Removal Act Justification

Indian Removal Act Justification

By Josh Goldstein and Michael HuraThe Indian Removal Act was passed on May 26, 1830. The president at the time was Andrew Jackson. The Indian Removal Act allowed Jackson to make deals with the Native Americans to get them to move west. In exchange for giving up their land, Indians were promised food, supplies, and money. However, the Indians were removed by force and didn't receive the things that they were promised. The Supreme Court ruled removing the Native Americans by force unconstitutional, but President Jackson ignored them. They were moved towards the west along the Trail of Tears. Of the 11,500 Cherokees moved in 1838, about 4,000 died along the way. The five major tribes affected by the Indian Removal Act were the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole.

About half of our country’s 2,500,000 Native Americans live on reservations. The living conditions on the reservation are terrible. Eight out ten adults on reservations are unemployed. It is very cramped and not uncommon for as many as 25 people to live in a two-bedroom home." The overall percentage of American Indians living below the federal poverty line outside the reservations is 28.2%. The percentage of American Indians living below poverty on the reservations is even greater, reaching 38% to 63%.15% of Americans live at or below the poverty line.The average household income in the United States had fallen to $50,054, which is the lowest it has been since 1996.Is the Indian Removal Act justified based on thecurrent living conditions of Americans and Native Americans? No, the Indian Removal Actis not justified. Native Americans now live onreservations with horrible living conditions because of the act. The percentage of American Indians living below poverty on the reservations is 38% to 63%, compared to Americans, with only 15% living at or below the poverty line. The Indian Removal Act should not have been passed and was not justified.That was a picture of the Native Americans movingalong the Trail of Tears.Trying to remain in their homelands, the Indians had adopted many white ways. Most of them gave up hunting and became farmers. A lot of them had learned to read and write. The Cherokee even had their own written language, a newspaper, and a constitution, which was based of the U.S. Constitution. Caucasian people called these Native Americans the “Five Civilized Tribes."Sources:http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/history/indian-removal-act.html